Dude, it's your junk! Pot linked to testicular cancer

[Daddydavek]

Saw this article on nbcnews.com

 

Here's the link:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48969102/ns/health-mens_health/#.UE4Ny65kjyI

[JamesSavik]

Ball cancer? Really!? Hysterical BS much?

I've been seeing "small" studies like this for decades attempting to pin something awful to justify the billions we're spending for prohibition. The follow on "large" study never seems to back up the first.

Besides- if there was any truth to it, I would have been dead 30 years ago.

[Andrea]

Ball cancer? Really!? Hysterical BS much?

I've been seeing "small" studies like this for decades attempting to pin something awful to justify the billions we're spending for prohibition. The follow on "large" study never seems to back up the first.

Besides- if there was any truth to it, I would have been dead 30 years ago.

 

I don't smoke myself, but I have to agree with this. I have many (all) male members of my family that have smoked all their lives with no testicular cancer scares. The numbers can be spun multiple ways to make something look either good or bad, just depends on who is funding the study.

[Zombie]

All drugs, including cannabis, have potential harmful side effects regardless of why they're taken. For recreational drugs it's all about relative risks and it's important people understand what these are. A 2009 study ranked the top 20 in terms of their risk to health:

 

1. Heroin

Class A drug. Originally used as a painkiller and derived from the opium poppy. There were 897 deaths recorded from heroin and morphine use in 2008 in England and Wales, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). There were around 13,000 seizures, amounting to 1.6m tonnes of heroin.

 

2. Cocaine

Class A. Stimulant produced from the South American coca leaf. Accounted for 235 deaths – a sharp rise on the previous year's fatalities. Nearly 25,000 seizures were made, amounting to 2.9 tonnes of the drug.

 

3. Barbituates

Class B. Synthetic sedatives used for anaesthetic purposes. Blamed for 13 deaths.

 

4. Street methadone

Class A. A synthetic opioid, commonly used as a substitute for treating heroin patients. Accounted for 378 deaths and there were more than 1,000 seizures of the drug.

 

5. Alcohol

Subject to increasing concern from the medical profession about its damage to health. According to the ONS, there were 8,724 alcohol deaths in the UK in 2007. Other sources claim the true figure is far higher.

 

6. Ketamine

Class C. A hallucinogenic dance drug for clubbers. There were 23 ketamine-related deaths in the UK between 1993 and 2006. Last year there were 1,266 seizures.

 

7. Benzodiazepines

Class C. A hypnotic relaxant used to treat anxiety and insomnia. Includes drugs such as diazepam, temazepam and nitrazepam. Caused 230 deaths and 1.8m doses were confiscated in more than 4,000 seizure operations.

 

8. Amphetamine

Class B. A psychostimulant that combats fatigue and suppresses hunger. Associated with 99 deaths, although this tally includes some ecstasy deaths. Nearly 8,000 seizures, adding up to almost three tonnes.

 

9. Tobacco

A stimulant that is highly addictive due to its nicotine content. More than 100,000 people a year die from smoking and tobacco-related diseases, including cancer, respiratory diseases and heart disease.

 

10. Buprenorphine

An opiate used for pain control, and sometimes as a substitute to wean addicts off heroin. Said to have caused 43 deaths in the UK between 1980 and 2002.

 

11. Cannabis

Class B. A psychoactive drug recently appearing in stronger forms such as "skunk".

 

12. Solvents

Fumes inhaled to produce a sense of intoxication. Usually abused by teenagers. Derived from commonly available products such as glue and aerosol sprays. Causes around 50 deaths a year.

 

13. 4-MTA

Class A. Originally designed for laboratory research. Releases serotonin in the body. Only four deaths reported in the UK between 1997 and 2004.

 

14. LSD

Class A. Hallucinogenic drug originally synthesised by a German chemist in 1938. Very few deaths recorded.

 

15. Methylphenidate

Class B drug. Brand name of Ritalin. A psychostimulant sometimes used in the treatment of attention deficit disorders.

 

16. Anabolic steroids

Class C. Used to develop muscles, notably in competitive sports. Also alleged to induce aggression. Have been blamed for causing deaths among bodybuilders. More than 800 seizures.

 

17. GHB

Class C drug. A clear liquid dance drug said to induce euphoria, also described as a date rape drug. Can trigger comas and suppress breathing. Caused 20 deaths and 47 seizures were recorded.

 

18. Ecstasy

Class A. Psychoactive dance drug. Caused 44 deaths, with around 5,000 seizures made.

 

19. Alykl nitrites

Known as "poppers". Inhaled for their role as a muscle relaxant and supposed sexual stimulant. Reduce blood pressure, which can cause fainting and in some cases death.

 

20. Khat

A psychoactive plant, the leaves of which are chewed in east Africa and Yemen. Also known as qat. Produces mild psychological dependence. Its derivatives, cathinone and cathine, are Class C drugs in the UK.

 

http://www.guardian....erous-drug-list

 

Edit to add: deleted Guardian reference to deaths for cannabis as this is unsubstantiated [see jamessavik post #12]

Edited September 11, 2012 by Zombie

[JamesSavik]

Ummm... I didn't see pot on that list.

[Zombie]

Ummm... I didn't see pot on that list.

 

 

True, but then marijuana, hash, grass, weed, or the whole dictionary of street names weren't listed either Just like alcoholic drinks there's a wide spectrum of names and strengths to choose from. "Grass" was the 60s dope, probably quite mild for today compared with skunk [the strongest - very high THC], but they all share the same active ingredient.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Zombie

[Nephylim]

Studies like this are only reliable if there are relative numbers.

 

For example (not from the study, just for illustration)... there was only 1 death in the UK last year from Solvent Abuse (ten people used solvents sp 1:10) but there were 100 deaths from Cannabis (100,000 people used cannabis. 1:1000)

 

The numbers are likely skewed for the whole table.

 

And how many people died from prescription medication, or high cholesterol. What about sports injuries, car accidents etc etc

 

It's all relative

 

It's

[Zombie]

True, but I did say "it's all about relative risks". Singling out classified drugs - as governments like to do - is unhelpful. The study was quoted because it was a review of all drugs to give a more balanced picture of risks rather than just those of illegal drugs. The methodology of ranking should be reviewed as new data becomes available but the approach is surely correct.

[Nephylim]

Oh I totally agree about the balanced approach and you did for sure say "it's all about relative risks" with which I totally agree.

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Ummm... I didn't see pot on that list.

 

Isn't it piled under cannabis?

 

If it's not, WHAT THE HELL WAS I...

 

Also, it seems MSNBC has apparently decided that something is a little off, because the link doesn't work, and searching their site (using Bing - might be part of the problem there) doesn't go anywhere either.

 

But, anecdotally, I will say that high dudes who are likely to get testicular cancer are probably trying to microwave something they shouldn't.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Gene Splicer PHD

[Nephylim]

But, anecdotally, I will say that high dudes who are likely to get testicular cancer are probably trying to microwave something they shouldn't.

 

Someone watches South Park LOL

[JamesSavik]

11. Cannabis

Class B. A psychoactive drug recently appearing in stronger forms such as "skunk". The subject of intense controversy over its long-term effects and capacity for inducing schizophrenia. Caused 19 deaths and there were 186,000 seizures, netting 65 tonnes of the drug and 640,000 cannabis plants.

 

Citation please. I have never heard of "Cannabis" causing death. It's non-toxic. You can smoke it until you pass out. (Believe me. I have.) The worst side effect I've ever seen is nausea and that was a "virgin". The synthetic kind, perhaps. Dumb asses doing something stupid and getting killed while they are high doesn't count. That's just natural selection at work.

 

I question the seizures claim too. Never heard or seen anything to support that claim and I do tend to keep up with the subject.

 

There are huge questions about the induced schizophrenia claims. Is the cannabis responsible or was it inevitable? The onset of schizophrenia happens to occur during adolescence and early adulthood- exactly the same time people are fooling around with Pot... err excuse me, cannabis.

 

There are numerous researchers over the years that have gotten busted for exaggerating their claims, fudging their research and out right lying. Finding something actually wrong with cannabis would be like hitting the lottery. Anyone who does will be showered in government grants.

 

Objectively- there is no evidence that cannabis deserves its reputation for a killer drug; no justification for the billions spent on prohibition, the hundreds of thousands jailed and the millions with criminal records for simple possession. Generations of government propaganda has done it job quite well.

[thatboyChase]

lol dis heur thrad is so foonie

[Zombie]

Citation please. I have never heard of "Cannabis" causing death. It's non-toxic. You can smoke it until you pass out. (Believe me. I have.) The worst side effect I've ever seen is nausea and that was a "virgin". The synthetic kind, perhaps. Dumb asses doing something stupid and getting killed while they are high doesn't count. That's just natural selection at work.

 

I question the seizures claim too. Never heard or seen anything to support that claim and I do tend to keep up with the subject.

 

Good point. I can't find any evidence for deaths either and I can't access the report published in The Lancet as it's subscription only so I'll delete that bit quoted in my original post. That was evidently written by The Guardian - sound like they got that wrong. Re seizures I believe this was about confiscations, not medical seizures.

 

Just to clarify, the study's author [David Nutt] believes cannabis is relatively low risk hence it came in at number 11, well below alcohol and tobacco, and essentially he lost his government job for not towing the government line. This wiki link gives more info

 

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/David_Nutt

[Daddydavek]

For anyone who actually read the story, through to the end, I think the point was that young men who use cannabis should do self-checks and go to the doctor if they discover anything unusual like lumps or irregularities in their testicles.

 

The male members of this group, I would assume are already doing regular checks of their "junk". Like safer sex practices, it doesn't hurt to know that there is a possible association and to take some simple precautionary steps.

[Zombie]

Good advice from daddy

[W_L]

Someone watches South Park LOL

 

you remembered the "bouncing balls too"